Post by stevep on Jun 5, 2018 10:03:01 GMT
August 1st, 1974. Vietnamese frigate Cay Do sets out the coast of western Burma as part of a joint war exercise with the Burmese navy. The Cay Do is part of a small patrol detachment, tasked with conducting recon and surveillance operations in Burma's western coast. In the darkness of dawn, the Cay Do and its team carry out their tasks. The waters are calm, yet the sky looms gloomy. As the hours pass, the clouds thicken and a powerful darkness falls upon the small team. The group commander decides to continue anyways. The vessels conduct a series of maneuvers, but slowly visibility becomes poor. Soon, the captain receives a message: the exercise has been canceled due to the stormy weather. Return to port immediately. The captain relays the message across all vessels... except the Cay Do. The thunderstorm interfered with communications, meaning the Cay Do never received the orders to return to port. Believing the exercise was still going, the Cay Do finished the maneuvers, unaware of anything that had happened. Soon, however, the Cay Do realized something was up. They attempted to communicate with the team captain, yet the storm made long-distance intercoms impossible. Wandering aimlessly for hours, the Cay Do trekked the Andaman Sea westwards. By 6:00 AM, they were within Indian territorial waters, in the Andaman archipelago.
The Cay Do was detected by radar at Port Blair, capital city of the Andaman Islands. Indian authorities immediately mobilized for emergency, believing this to be a full-out assault. The Indian government had declared neutrality during the Annexation Crisis, despite close relations with both sides. At 6:12, an Indian patrol boat radioed the British command center in Bangkok, explaining their current situation and requesting immediate help. The British, desperate, sent a reserve destroyer to Port Blair from the south Indic Ocean: the HMS Pembroke. The Cay Do - believing to be somewhere near the southern Burmese city of Pa-an - attempted radio communication, which was retrieved by the Pembroke. The British destroyer, thinking the Cay Do was a larger ship, ordered the Burmese vessel to back down or face immediate retaliation. The Cay Do replied to the Pembroke that they should back down, for they were trespassing Burmese territorial waters. The confusion went on until around 7:00. The Pembroke ultimately decided it was a distraction from a large attack into the Andaman Islands. As the day progressed, the Cay Do was able to establish a weak communication with a Chinese destroyer, the Li Xiao, at around 7:50 AM. The Cay Do conveyed the following message:
"Under attack by hostile vessel. Come to location immediately. Engage if provoked."
The Li Xiao came for the Vietnamese ship's aid. Now detecting two vessels, the Pembroke was convinced this was an act of war. Meanwhile, the Li Xiao fired a warning shot to the Pembroke's general direction. The small, inoffensive explosive detonated right under the Pembroke's hull, damaging a turbine and rendering on-board navigation systems useless. The Pembroke was in a state of absolute panic. Believing they were under attack, the captain ordered immediate retaliation.
At 8:02 AM, three torpedoes from the HMS Pembroke ruptured into the Cay Do, decimating the small patrol boat in a massive explosion. All 49 crew were instantly killed. Alarmed, the Li Xiao fled the scene, sending a single message to naval command in Yangon:
"Vietnamese vessel sunk by British ship. No survivors. Act of unprovoked aggression. We must prepare for war immediately."
That sounds like a hell of a lot of incompetence on all sides. Also rather surprised that India, desiring to stay neutral, would ask Britain for assistance rather than investigation using its own forces.
